Tag: inner worlds

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LONGLIST | ZHR PRIZE FOR WOMEN WRITERS

On By Mahvash K. M.In Awards, Shortstory, socialissues, womenwriters, writingLeave a comment

My story “THE GLIMMER” has been long listed in the Zeenat Haroon Rashid 2023 Writing competition for Women.

Zeenat Haroon Rashid (21 Jan 1928 – 8 April 2017) was the daughter of Sir Abdullah Haroon. She was a young stalwart of the Muslim League and founding member of the Women’s National Guard at the time of Independence, and throughout her life promoted a vision of Pakistani women as equal partners in the struggle for building a modern Pakistan. The Zeenat Haroon Rashid Writing Prize for Women has been set up to promote and provide support for women who wish to pursue writing as a career.

Thank you to this year’s judges, Amina Ahmad, Shandana Minhas, Mohammad Hanif, Sarwat Yasmeen Azeem and Shan Vahidy. Grateful and chuffed 🙏🏼🌸

YOU CAN READ THE LONGLIST HERE: https://www.zhrwritingprize.com/read-the-longlist

VERSE | ADRIFT

On By Mahvash K. M.In poetry, truth, verse, womenwriters, writingLeave a comment 
I feel the pull
I feel the glimmer 
It surrounds me, it’s all around me 
I freeze as it coaxes me 
Out of the grip of my sanity 
I stop struggling
And let it pull me in
I drown
Down, down 
In the tsunami gushing
Inside my mind
But only for a breath

I resurface then
In my other world 
My secret one 
Where I have no anxiety 
Where I don’t want to run 
And hide
I’m beside
A swing in the garden 
And a rocking chair. I smile.
They both hold the comfort 
And the softness of old friends 
They rest there quietly

I sit in the swing 
I push with my feet 
And peek through the leaves 
At the golden-red sky 
I can’t see them 
But I can hear the birds 
I think it is dusk 
A velvety glow wraps my world 
Golden paisleys and whorls
Dance around my feet 
As I sway gently in my seat
Dappled sunlight cloaks
My shoulders like angels’ wings 
As I weave to and fro on the swing 

I breathe out, my muscles untense
I’m far away from cause and consequence 
No memories, no sorrows
No yesterdays, no tomorrows 
It is Now and Now is everything 
I lean back 
In the swing 
She holds me softly 
In her cushioning 
I close my eyes 
I hear something 
Someone is calling me
Voices from far away 
But my lids are so heavy 
I can’t keep awake
In the tranquil buzz 
Of the honey bees 
And the gentle murmur 
Of the almond trees 
Like wraiths the voices fade away 

I’m finally home, unbound, pain-free
I lay my head back and sleep. 

She’s not here anymore. She’s gone 
Adrift in the tangle of her dreams.